The tax department had in an unprecedented move last month appropriated Rs 1,500 crore of tax refund due to Cairn Energy and another Rs 666 crore of dividend income due to it for three years from its erstwhile subsidiary Cairn India to recover the Rs 10,247 crore of tax plus interest.

Holding that tax orders are not meant to "add to difficulties" of taxpayers, the Delhi High Court has ruled that the IT department should not "deny" refund to an assessee whose case is being processed under scrutiny and the Assessing Officer will have "discretion" to take a final call on the issue.

In a step that would bring delight to taxpayers, the Income Tax Department has put in motion a new plan which will ensure that any refund on tax paid is safely deposited in their personal bank accounts as soon as it is processed and released.

The tax department had in an unprecedented move last month appropriated Rs 1,500 crore of tax refund due to Cairn Energy and another Rs 666 crore of dividend income due to it for three years from its erstwhile subsidiary Cairn India to recover the Rs 10,247 crore of tax plus interest.

Holding that tax orders are not meant to "add to difficulties" of taxpayers, the Delhi High Court has ruled that the IT department should not "deny" refund to an assessee whose case is being processed under scrutiny and the Assessing Officer will have "discretion" to take a final call on the issue.

In a step that would bring delight to taxpayers, the Income Tax Department has put in motion a new plan which will ensure that any refund on tax paid is safely deposited in their personal bank accounts as soon as it is processed and released.

The officer said the CPC, through its field offices and other communication channels, is trying to gather correct details of the legitimate recipients of these refunds which are estimated to hold "lakhs of rupees, if not crores."

The Income Tax Department on Friday conducted a 'survey' at different offices of Sesa Sterlite, the main operating company of London-listed Vedanta Resources, in connection with a tax refund of about Rs 1,500 crore claimed by the company, according to sources.

Once all the formalities are completed, we think only a little about tax refunds. Tax refunds are something only few of us get while most of us don't. So, it's essential to learn well about tax refunds.

India News | Stephanie Strom, The New York Times | Wednesday March 7, 2012

The cost of claiming a legitimate income tax refund in Hyderabad, India? 10,000 rupees. The going rate to get a child who has already passed the entrance requirements into high school in Nairobi, Kenya? 20,000 shillings.

The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) arrested a class-II officer from the Income-Tax department with three others for an alleged scam of I-T refund orders. The scam amounting to more than Rs1.89 crore took place between 2007 and 2009 with the help of 250 refund orders issued in the name of fake tax payers.Police said the arrested officer, Prayag Sakhara...